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Squire Report, Vol 13: Year Two

03 October 2018

So how does this team follow up such a historic and record-breaking season? With a very active summer and an outstanding 6-1 record in the preseason! I can't wait for Year Two to begin, but here's a quick recap of the recent news...

PATCHING UP A HOLE IN THE TOP SIX

With the departure of James Neal and David Perron via free agency, the Golden Knights were left to fill a void at wing - which precipitated the blockbuster trade that brought Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty to Vegas. One of the NHL's best wingers of the past decade, Pacioretty has tallied at least 30 goals and 60 points in five of his last six full seasons, while representing the USA in both the Olympics (2014) and World Cup of Hockey (2016). With their top line already in place, the Knights now add important scoring depth for the second line, where Pacioretty will likely line up next to Paul Stastny, a longtime friend from their days with Team USA.

In order to facilitate the move, GM George McPhee got Pacioretty to agree to a four-year contract extension worth $7 million per season - a deal that helps both sides, with the player getting significant dollars and the team getting a shorter term for cap flexibility. I think this is an excellent move all around, and really serves to show the rest of the league that last season was no fluke and that the Knights intend to remain Stanley Cup contenders for the immediate future. But was the cost to acquire Pacioretty too high?

In exchange for the skilled winger, Vegas had to depart with Tomas Tatar and former 1st round pick Nick Suzuki, as well as a 2nd round pick in 2019. Honestly, Tatar never really did fit in after being brought over at last season's trade deadline, so his departure is certainly acceptable - as long as you don't lament too hard over the draft picks it took to acquire him, and just chalk that up to "sunk cost". The team could easily part with another one of their surplus of draft picks, but it was tough to see Suzuki go, especially after seeing him up close twice during the OHL playoffs. He should be a fantastic player down the road for Montreal (he scored a hat trick in his second game back in the OHL), but that's the price of doing business in today's NHL.

SEVEN YEARS FOR THEO

After briefly holding out during the start of the preseason, defensemen Shea Theodore finally agreed to a seven-year extension that will make him the highest-paid Vegas blueliner with an annual salary of $5.2 million. The 23-year-old dazzled from the moment he joined the Knights lineup last season, and I have no doubt that he will continue to make strides and become one of the most gifted offensive defensemen in the league. While the seven year commitment does raise some eyebrows, the cap hit is fair enough to provide great value by the expiration of the deal.

But there's always going to be a risk in signing a young player to such a long deal, as GM's continually trying to stay ahead of the curve in order to lock players up before they have breakout seasons. The list of players with comparable contracts to Theodore's is a veritable who's who of solid young defensemen, with the majority of them becoming terrific-yet-underpaid top-pair guys. Standouts like John Klingberg and Roman Josi are now part of the Norris Trophy discussion and overshadow the disappointment of players such as Zach Bogosian and Danny DeKeyser, while the likes of Jaccob Slavin and Oscar Klefbom anchor their respective blue lines.

McPhee stated that Theodore and his agent wanted a two-year bridge deal (as I expected), and while that may have cost the team more in the long run, I didn't think it was out of the question - but now I wonder if that was the only real holdup to getting a deal done. Perhaps it was the dynamic play of a teenager in the preseason that helped the put the wheels in motion to get Theo back on the ice...

ALL ABOARD THE "BRANNWAGON"!

Ever since being chosen 15th overall in the 2017 draft, defenseman Erik Brannstrom continues to impress the hockey world. From playing against grown men in the Swedish Hockey League to starring for his home country in the World Junior Championships, the 19-year-old has watched his legend grow exponentially. So of course, it was time for a nickname to follow his exploits - and thus, the "Brannwagon" was born (kudos to The Gilded Jester for coming up with a wonderful term we can all get behind!).

After standing out at Rookie Camp, the diminutive Swede instantly carried over that success into the preseason, notching a goal and an assist in each of his first two games. He came back to earth in his third game (-1, four penalty minutes), but rebounded with a highlight reel shootout goal to wrap up his first week of NHL action:

Let's just not talk about his dismal fifth game against Colorado (-3, two more penalty minutes) and the fact that he was sent down to the AHL after the Shea Theodore signing - instead, I'll focus on the positive. He has an extremely bright future, and he'll spend the season getting used to playing on the smaller North American ice surface in the minors. While we patiently await his return to the bright lights of Las Vegas, why not pick up a t-shirt?

I. NATE SCHMIDT WILL RECEIVE A LONG-TERM CONTRACT EXTENSION
It goes without saying that this wasn’t a great month for our dear Schmitty. Not only did he fail to get a contract extension, but he was also suspended for the first 20 games of the season after testing positive for a banned substance. While this might seem like a setback, I think Nate will use this as motivation to have a dominant season when he returns - if that’s the case, McPhee might want to lock him up sooner than later, since I feel he will be a cornerstone defenseman for this franchise for years to come.

II. SHEA THEODORE WILL SIGN A TWO-YEAR BRIDGE DEAL
Looks like I had the same idea as the player and his agent, but McPhee was shrewd and convinced the young Theodore to take a longer deal for his own security. Sure it comes at the expense of being able to renegotiate for a higher salary in the short term, but the familiarity and presumed success of the organization should remind Theodore that he’s in a great place to continue his development.

III. THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS WILL GO UNDEFEATED IN THE VEGAS ROOKIE FACEOFF
The inaugural tournament was a rousing success, with both fans and personnel from the teams involved raving about the exciting play. As a bonus, many of those in attendance got their first look at the dynamic Brannstrom as well as Nic Hague, who was terrific as he notched two goals in each of the first two games. The Knights would score 18 goals over the course of their three contests, but they dropped a 5-4 decision to San Jose to finish with a 2-1 record.

NEXT MONTH'S PREDICTIONS

I. THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS WILL WIN EIGHT GAMES
Even with a daunting opening month that sees the Knights play eight opponents who made the playoffs last year, I’m still very high on this team. I know you can’t put too much stock in the preseason but they look like they’re firing on all cylinders and have perfectly integrated the new acquisitions into their lineup. I expect another hot start in Year Two, and an immediate silence to the “fluke” claims from the previous season.

II. MAX PACIORETTY WILL SCORE SIX GOALS
Let’s face it - Max is happy to be in Vegas. That boundless optimism should carry over to his on-ice performance, and the potential to put up points with less pressure on the second line cannot be overlooked. A goal in every other game seems like a fair bet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he surpasses that rate as well.

III. NICK HOLDEN WILL RECORD SEVEN POINTS
Lost in the hubbub of the more high-profile additions to the team, Holden quietly put together a solid training camp and preseason. The return of Shea Theodore - and the prolonged absence of Nate Schmidt - has allowed head coach Gerard Gallant to finally set his defensive lineup, and though Holden should play fewer minutes on the bottom pair, I think his offensive instincts should propel him to achieve an impressive point total by month's end.